5 Things - Flames @ Islanders

1. Long Island Express

The Flames are 2/2 on their Eastern Seaboard swing.

The chance to improve that standing, and to claim a fourth straight win, presents itself now in the form of a Saturday morning matinee on Long Island.

Thursday night in New Jersey, the team came alive in the second period, then rode the strength of a trio of third-period goals to dispatch the Devils 5-3 - and in the process, improved their road record against New York-area teams to 10-3-3 since the 2016-17 season.

The team’s fortunes have again taken a turn for the better, bolstered by new and returning faces such as Kevin Rooney, who scored his first goal as a Flame two nights ago and has centred a new-look fourth line alongside Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr.

So too, has the team's standing in the Western Conference table. All of a sudden, Calgary sits just one point shy of a wild card spot (as of the beginning of play Friday), and the team appears determined to keep pushing as we enter the final two-and-a-half months of the regular season.

It makes for tense moments, but also for exciting times, a scenario that head coach Ryan Huska knows will bring about full attention from his charges.

“We’re in that situation where we don’t have a choice,” Huska said Friday. “I feel like it’s a good thing for us, and I’ve liked the way our team game has been for a lot of the last two games.

“It’ll be a little different story for us (Saturday) with the way the team plays in New York here, compared to what we saw in New Jersey, so we have to make sure we’re ready to go.”

But there’s definitely a different feel about the group: one part youthful enthusiasm, another of newfound confidence that the team’s veterans figure is bringing a renewed sense of cohesiveness.

“I just like the energy and the pace, the way we’ve played together as a team the last couple of games,” Flames captain Mikael Backlund commented Friday.

It’s been great, it’s the deepest we’ve felt all year,” forward Blake Coleman added. “Obviously a lot of new bodies in the lineup, and a lot of energy brought to the group.

“I think we’re having fun, it’s been pretty infectious; it’s only two games, but we’re right back in the mix now thanks to that start.

“We’ve got two tough challenges to wrap up the trip here, if we can take advantage, it’ll be big.”

Huska said Friday he’s liked the Flames' enthusiasm since the group returned from the All-Star break, but he also drew parallels between Calgary’s recent form and that of Saturday’s opponent.

“I’ve really liked the way we’ve come back after the break with the energy and the excitement that we have,” he noted, “and when you watch and look at the way the Islanders have played, there’s a lot of the same things that you see over there.”

“We’ve got to finish this road trip off the right way, we want to make sure our team game is where it needs to be,” he added.

“This is going to be a tough test for us.”

2. Know Your Enemy

The Islanders made waves across the hockey world in January, hiring Hall-of-Famer Patrick Roy as their new head coach.

In his six games in charge, he’s collected a 3-1-2 record, and his Islanders come into Saturday’s contest boasting wins over the Leafs and Lightning since returning from the All-Star break.

Thursday night, New York scored three goals in the first period, and three more in the second en route to a 6-2 win over Tampa Bay; six different Isles lit the lamp, with forwards Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat each compiling a goal and an assist.

The UBS Arena faithful were heard chanting Roy’s name Thursday, another sign of what is quickly becoming a bit of a love affair between the New York faithful and the former Habs and Avalanche goalkeeper.

“What I do like about these fans, is they’re heart people,” Roy told reporters Friday. “You can tell, they’re pissed when we don’t work, and when we work, they love us; I think it’s pretty simple what they expect from our team.

“I’m very lucky to be part of this adventure, I will say that.”

And it’s going to be an adventure down the stretch, it appears. New York entered play Friday two points back of Detroit for the second wild card berth in the Eastern Conference.

Barzal leads the way offensively for New York with 54 points, while Horvat and Brock Nelson share the team lead with 21 goals apiece.

Defenceman Noah Dobson is enjoying a career year on the back end, his 53 points are third among NHL blueliners, with 21 of those points coming via the powerplay.

The individual stats are nice, but more impressive to Roy, though, is how his group is starting to gel, both with and without the puck.

“I feel like we are progressing in every area, right now, of our game.”

3. Fast Facts

2023-24 Season Series:

Today’s game marks the second and final meeting of the regular season between the Flames and Islanders.

New York scored a 5-4 shootout victory at the Scotiabank Saddledome Nov. 18, with Oliver Wahlstrom scoring the deciding goal in the breakaway competition.

It was a back and forth affair; the Flames rallied from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits to earn a point, getting goals from Martin Pospisil, Blake Coleman, MacKenzie Weegar and Yegor Sharangovich.

Did You Know?

Andrei Kuzmenko has certainly made an impact in his first two games with the Flames, scoring a pair of goals, including the eventual game-winner Thursday night in New Jersey.

He has a chance to join only four other Flames players to score in their first three games with the club.

The last player to do so? David Moss, during the 2006-07 campaign.

4. Quotable

Blake Coleman on his initial impressions of new teammate Andrei Kuzmenko:

“He’s just happy go-lucky, he’s real funny. I guess you kind of write your own narrative when you hear stuff in the media, or obviously he gets traded to us and not sure what the reasoning is behind it, but he’s definitely exceeded expectations in terms of how hard he works; he competes and he wants to win, and he obviously has the high-end skill to go with it. He’s been a really great addition to our team, another one of those pieces that we’ve been kind of just missing to get us over the edge here. If he keeps playing the way he is right now, he’s going to help us win a lot of games.”

Our Ryan Dittrick has more on Kuzmenko's early impact as a Flame here.

5. Players to Watch

Flames - Connor Zary

He scored the game-winner in Boston, and his goal Thursday night in New Jersey gave the Flames a lead they would not relinquish: safe to say Zary is comfortable playing in hostile environments.

The Calgary rookie is up to 12 goals on the season, sitting fifth in NHL rookie scoring with 26 points; he enters Saturday's game having lit the lamp in three of his last four contests.

Islanders - Mathew Barzal

The 26-year-old has excelled under Patrick Roy’s tutelage; he brings a four-game point streak into Saturday’s contest and is also coming off his third appearance at the NHL All-Star Game earlier this month.

Known primarily for his playmaking abilities (71% of his career NHL points are assists), Barzal has scored in three of his last four games, and has a shot at eclipsing his career-best total of 85 points, set during his Calder Trophy season of 2017-18.